Tala vs. Branch vs. M-Shwari vs. Fuliza: Which Kenyan Loan App Is Actually Cheapest?
Kenya's licensed digital lenders issued 7.5 million loans worth KES 133.5 billion in a single month, February 2026 alone , and the Central Bank of Kenya now has 227 digital credit providers on its official licence list. That's an enormous amount of borrowing happening through apps that each price their loans completely differently, some as a daily percentage, some as a flat one-time fee, some as a monthly range that depends entirely on an internal credit score you can't see. Comparing them isn't as simple as reading the headline number in each app. Here's what Tala, Branch, M-Shwari, and Fuliza actually charge, in terms you can compare directly against each other. Why "Interest Rate" Means Something Different on Every App The core confusion with Kenyan loan apps is that none of them price loans the same way. Tala charges daily interest of roughly 0.3% to 0.6% , plus a 20% excise duty on that interest, which compounds into an effective APR the company i...
